{"id":13211,"date":"2019-04-30T18:45:21","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T10:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-resupply-launch-delayed-by-malfunction-on-space-station\/"},"modified":"2019-04-30T18:45:21","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T10:45:21","slug":"spacex-resupply-launch-delayed-by-malfunction-on-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-resupply-launch-delayed-by-malfunction-on-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX resupply launch delayed by malfunction on space station"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Updated at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) with NASA\u2019s confirmation of the delay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
A portion of a solar array wing on the International Space Station is visible in this image. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A SpaceX Dragon supply ship packed with nearly three tons of experiments, crew provisions and supplies will remain on the ground until at least Friday morning to allow more time for NASA flight controllers to troubleshoot a problem with an electrical distribution unit on the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

Multiple sources said Monday that the commercial resupply launch from Cape Canaveral, previously scheduled for Wednesday, will be pushed back at least two days to no earlier than Friday at 3:11 a.m. EDT (0711 GMT).<\/p>\n

NASA confirmed the launch delay Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The delay will allow time for NASA flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to continue troubleshooting an issue with a distribution box in the space station\u2019s electrical power system. Engineers detected an issue with the Main Bus Switching Unit on Monday morning, and ground teams plan to replace the component later this week, ahead of the SpaceX cargo launch.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeams are working on a plan to robotically replace the failed unit and restore full power to the station system,\u201d NASA said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cThe earliest possible launch opportunity is no earlier than Friday, May 3.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Main Bus Distribution Unit is one of several that routes power from the space station\u2019s U.S. solar arrays to the research outpost\u2019s electrical channels. The suspect unit distributes power to two of the eight electrical channels on the station, including a power supply for the space station\u2019s robotic arm, which the station astronauts will use to capture the Dragon cargo craft as it approaches the complex.<\/p>\n

While the robotic arm remains powered through a separate channel, NASA flight rules require redundant power supplies for the arm during critical operations, such as the grapple of a free-flying spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Ground teams have replaced a failed Main Bus Switching Unit using the station\u2019s robotic arm before. The capability to robotically replace the power distribution box means astronauts will not have to conduct a spacewalk for the task.<\/p>\n

The electrical system glitch does not pose any immediate concern to the station or its six-person crew, NASA said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NASA\u2019s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) and the U.S. military\u2019s Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payloads are in view installed in the trunk of SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft inside the SpaceX facility at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2019. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFlight controllers have been working to route power through the remaining six power channels,\u201d NASA said in a previous statement released Monday. \u201cElectrical power generated by the station\u2019s solar arrays is fed to all station systems through these power channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Dragon spacecraft had launched Wednesday, it was due to arrive at the station early Saturday. Assuming a launch from Cape Canaveral on Friday morning, the Dragon cargo freighter is scheduled to reach the complex early Sunday.<\/p>\n

Forecasters with the U.S. Air Force\u2019s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for Friday\u2019s predawn launch opportunity, which is timed for when the space station\u2019s orbital plane passes over Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

An outlook issued Tuesday identified concerns that weather at Cape Canaveral could violate weather rules relating to cumulus clouds, thick clouds and flight through precipitation.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Updated at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) with NASA\u2019s confirmation of the delay. A portion of a solar array wing on the International Space Station is visible in this image. Credit: NASA A SpaceX Dragon supply ship packed with nearly three tons of experiments, crew provisions and supplies will remain on the ground […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1838,291,1736,1395,2613,479,1545,717],"class_list":["post-13211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-canadarm-2","tag-commercial-space","tag-complex-40","tag-dragon","tag-expedition-59","tag-falcon-9","tag-human-spaceflight","tag-international-space-station"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}